David De Gea penalty heroics met with warning for AC Milan players ...

Published 07/10/2024 at 14:14 GMT

Paulo Fonseca has warned his AC Milan players that "this can't happen again" after seeing his side miss two penalties against a David de Gea-inspired Fiorentina.

That Milan lost the encounter 2-1 had much to do with De Gea's heroics, as first he kept out Theo Hernandez from 12 yards in first-half stoppage time with his side 1-0 up, then also repelled Tammy Abraham's spot-kick on 56 minutes to once more keep his sheet clean.

Christian Pulisic did finally level for the visitors on the hour with a brilliant finish, but Albert Gudmundsson sent La Viola to victory with a winner 17 minutes from time.

For Fonseca, there was a mixture of anger and astonishment afterwards.

"Our designated penalty taker is Pulisic," the Portuguese revealed.

"I don't know why the players changed their minds. I have spoken to them and told them that this can't happen again."

He added: "When we miss two penalties and concede a goal like the last one, it becomes difficult to win despite creating a lot."

Fonseca also went on to question the refereeing that saw three penalties given in the game, with Fiorentina's Moise Kean also fluffing his lines from the spot in the first half.

"I don't like talking about refereeing, but this isn't football," Fonseca said.

"Football is made up of contact and one touch cannot be enough to give a penalty.

"This is football not the circus. And I'm not just talking about the penalty against us but also the ones we got."

To compound Fonseca's woes, Pulisic appeared frustrated to be subbed off in the second half, while Hernandez was sent off in injury time late on.

The result leaves Milan down in sixth, already five points back from Serie A pacesetters Napoli.

There were contrasting emotions for Fiorentina boss Raffaele Palladino however, who reflected on De Gea's remarkable contribution to the game, which involved other saves to boot.

“Trust me, he’s still a monster. He’s a top, world-class player," Palladino said.

“We can see why he’s a champion, a real one. We should thank him every day, he’s a top goalkeeper and a role model.”